Despite First Amendment objections from the media, the hearing is being kept private.

In an order issued on Nov. 16, Judge Richard Gergel said Roof's Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial and a fair and impartial jury require the closure of the competency hearing. That was the date jury selection was slated to resume after a last-minute motion delayed it for over a week; jury selection will now resume on Nov. 28, he said.

Jury selection began on Nov. 7, but was immediately interrupted when Gergel said a last-minute motion required his immediate attention. A closed-door hearing was scheduled for later that day with jury selection set to resume two days later. The following day, the judge ordered jury selection postponed while Roof underwent a competency evaluation.

One of the nine people killed that night was the church's pastor, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney.